CITY ISSUES (Please answer as succinctly as possible — no more than 100 words per question)

1. What skills, background or special abilities would you bring to the Board of Supervisors?

I have a 20 year career in Public Health and as the Director of a nonprofit health coalition have a proven record of creating partnerships with both the public and private sectors to bring about positive changes for the city. I have developed and maintained an 8 year community partnership with the San Francisco Giants to educate SF about and prevent whooping cough. I have a Master's Degree in Economics which gives me an ability to analyze public policies from a different perspective and I am a musician so I am creative and believe in the power of new ideas.

As Supervisor I will work to improve public schools, public safety, increase affordable housing and improve transit issues. We also need to activate our streets and our parks so children can safely walk, play, and ride bikes in this city. That means expanding programs like Sunday Streets and making sure there are more police on the streets walking the beat.

3. What does the city need to do about homelessness? What's working that you favor? What's not being done?

There are many programs across the city that do a great job working with the homeless everyday including our health clinics, Homeless Outreach Team, Project Homeless Connect, and neighborhood organizations like North Beach Citizens – a neighborhood run homeless drop-in center. We need to deal more seriously with mental illness and need more residential substance abuse treatment beds as substance abuse is serious problem in our homeless population. Like Seattle, we should experiment with wet shelters allowing homeless people to drink alcohol in shelters in a controlled environment preventing many from drinking on the streets in an uncontrolled setting.

4. Do you favor Mayor Lee's focus and strategies on attracting tech jobs?

I believe San Francisco has a habit of selling itself out to the highest bidder and forgetting about the people and the characteristics that make it an amazing and interesting place to live. Yes we need tech sector jobs, but I believe the city should better support its small businesses - an underappreciated engine for job growth. Many small business owners that I talk to have said they are being squeezed by higher rents, red tape, and large chain stores. Small businesses need support and I will make that a high priority as Supervisor.

5. Do you support the city's Transit First policies that emphasize public transit over private vehicles? Is a wider bike lane system working? Do plans to expand parking meter locations make sense? Is the surge in car-sharing services a good idea?

I fully support the city's Transit First policies. The former Mayor of Bogota Enrique Peñalosa said, "A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars; it's where the rich use public transportation." Wider more protected bike lanes are proven in multiple studies to be safer. We need to create two major bikeways across the city from the Bay to the Ocean and North to South. I support a push towards market rate parking but I believe we should preserve Sunday as a meter free day. Car-sharing is a good idea to ensure people still have access to a car without having to create more city infrastructure for cars.

6. Do you favor a proposed Warriors arena on Piers 30-32?

7. Has the city struck a fair balance between tenant and landlord rights? If not, what changes would you advocate?

I believe the city could do a better job of educating tenants about their rights. I also believe we need to strengthen rent control however I would be open to allowing the annual rental increase under rent control to go to 100% of the CPI to stay on par with inflation. I also think we need to find a solution for people who are stuck in TIC arrangements that does not compromise rent control.

8. What additional steps, if any, should the city take to reduce its unfunded liability for retiree health coverage?

The pension reform measure that was approved by voters went a long way to improving the city's position regarding pensions. I don't believe we need to make any changes currently.

9. Should Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi be removed from office?

No. While I am sensitive to the issue of domestic violence I believe that the city should allow him to be Sheriff as he was elected by the people. If people want to remove him from office there is a recall process to do that. I believe the process that has been undertaken by the Mayor has been highly politicized and unfair.

10. Do you favor allowing apartments of 150 square feet as a low-cost housing option?

11. Should public nudity be banned in San Francisco?

No.

12. Do you favor the ranked choice system of electing officeholders or a return to the top two finishers competing in a runoff?

I fully support the Instant Runoff Voting system. I do believe the Department of Elections needs to better educate the voters about how the system works.

13. Do you support with the current system of 11 district supervisors? If not, what changes would you advocate such as changing the number of supervisors and/or at-large seats?

I support the current 11 Board member configuration.

14. Do you have a priority issue that is not in this questionnaire?

I have challenged the other candidates to forego using political door hangers and develop cleaner/greener ways to reach voters. Even though door hangers annoy a large majority of voters and end up as garbage on our streets, politicians still use them. My campaign has listened to voters and has been creating usable campaign collateral like postcards and reusable shopping bags. Door hangers are not the most important issue in this campaign but clearly illustrate how politicians can be deaf or just plain apathetic to the issues that matter to the residents of our city.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.